This should be interesting: Brad Smith, Microsoft’s general counsel, is slated to be one of the witnesses next Tuesday at a U.S. Senate subcommittee hearing on “The Google-Yahoo Agreement and the Future of Internet Advertising.” No word yet on the other witnesses. …

More than five months after Microsoft launched its unsolicited bid to acquire Yahoo, the high-stakes corporate saga has delivered enough plot twists to fill a novel. And it’s not over yet, with reports last week that Microsoft is trying, again, to strike a deal for Yahoo’s search business. …

In an e-mail to employees this afternoon, a Microsoft executive disclosed details of the alternative proposal that Yahoo turned down yesterday before announcing its search-advertising partnership with Google. According to the message from Kevin Johnson, president of Microsoft’s Platforms and Services Division, the company offered $1 billion for Yahoo’s search assets, plus an $8 billion investment in Yahoo, at $35 per share. …

Yahoo moved swiftly this afternoon to announce an advertising partnership with Google, hours after declaring an end to its lingering Microsoft negotiations. Under the deal, ads from Google’s lucrative system will appear next to Yahoo search results in the U.S. and Canada. …

Google CEO Eric Schmidt discussed a variety of topics during an appearance on Fox Business Network this morning, including the company’s rivalry with Microsoft and a possible Google-Yahoo partnership. Here’s an excerpt, as provided by the network. …

Just in case anyone thought all the Microsoft-Yahoo hubbub was over, the companies are still talking about a possible deal, Yahoo President Susan Decker told an advertising conference in New York today. …